Summer Reading Recommendations from Jenny...

I spent the last few days in Vegas for my aunt's wedding. I've been enjoying laying by the pool reading and of course jumping in to cool off every so often in this 110 degree heat. Yikes!

I brought Gabriel Garcia Marquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude to read on this trip. Something I've been meaning to read since forever ago. While I was enjoying the beautiful prose on the surprisingly quiet flight down, I was reminded that classics don't always make the best vacation reads when trying to concentrate by the pool. It took me awhile to get into it, but about 100 pages in, I'm hooked.

In general, for summer books, you need something that's going to hold your attention while the stranger on the lounger next to you tells their companion in excruciating detail about their peeling sunburn and kids run by dripping water on the pages. Something that's going to make you want to lay in one place a little longer, instead of feeling guilty about not checking your email or having your mind wander to what snack you could find.

So here's a list of books that passed the test and kept my attention while lounging on a lazy day at the beach, by a pool, or in my backyard...

If you're looking worthwhile chick-lit with a bit of a mystery to keep you hooked: Big Little Liesby Liane Moriaty

If you're a Harry Potter fan, check out this grown up Hogwarts: The Magiciansby Lev Grossman

If you enjoy getting sucked onto a different time with historical romances: Outlanderby Diana Gabaldon